| | By Mick James
Crossing the
Atlantic-in either
direction-is one of the
most exciting but risky
journeys a consultancy
can undertake. In the
last few years we've
also gone from a
relatively stable
grouping of global
consultancy firms to a
situation where some
major brands are having
to make some scary
decisions about their
transatlantic
positioning. Capgemini,
for instance, is
aggressively rebuilding
in the USA, while
Bearing Point is rapidly
filling the hole in its
network left when the UK
consultancy practice of
KPMG was acquired by
Atos Origin. Meanwhile a
host of smaller firms
are taking the
opportunity to move
their IP into new
markets.
But which transition
is easier? And what are
the challenges in
managing a transatlantic
consultancy. I spoke to
marketing consultant
Allyson Stewart-Allen,
the founder of
International Marketing
Partners Consultants,
and author of Working
with Americans. Formerly
a consultant with Hay,
PA and Price Waterhouse,
Stewart-Allen has forged
a career out of advising
UK firms about moving to
the USA, and vice
versa.
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"I think its probably
easier going west," she
says. "If you're a
European firm it's much
easier for you to get
your head round the
American market than for
Americans to get their
heads round Europe."
Stewart-Allen says
it's easy for US firms
to underestimate both
the diversity and the
dynamism of the 25 EU
member states.
"They try to apply a
template and get upset
when it doesn't apply
across the board," she
says. By contrast the
more homogenous US
business culture means
that a European firm can
work the same way pretty
much anywhere in the
States.
"It's much easier for
Europeans to work with
the American monoculture
than for Americans to
deal with Europe's
multiple cultures," she
says.
Not only that, but
many industries in the
USA are highly
clustered, offering a
target-rich environment
of clients within easy
reach:
"If you're in
financial services then
New York is your
starting point," says
Stewart-Allen. "If it's
media and entertainment
then you'll want to
start in California."
However, European-and
particularly UK
consultancies should not
be overconfident about | |
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| | the ease of "breaking
America"
"This is the trap a
lot of UK consultancies
fall into, they want the
US to be a lot like the
UK," she says. "Because
the language is similar
they think there's a lot
of Anglo-Saxon DNA in
there and there's not.
The hybrid that is the
USA is a bit German, a
bit Scandinavian, a bit
Latin but mainly it's
its own indigenous and
alien type like every
other culture. You
should assume it's as
foreign a marketplace as
China."
Views of time, for
instance differ
radically across the
Atlantic:
"In the States
there's far less
tolerance for people to
respond," says
Stewart-Allen. "In the
US, 'promptly' means
within 48hours. In the
EU it can be up to five
days. If they haven't
heard back from you in
the States by hour 49
they assume you're not
very hungry, not very
ambitious."
Another area is
business continuity:
"In the US the
business world doesn't
come to a stop because
it's a holiday," says
Stewart-Allen. "We hand
things over to other
people to make sure
there's continuity of
service. Over here, if
someone's out of the
office it's tough, | |
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| | no-one's been briefed,
there's no handover."
Even within the
consultancy world there
are major differences,
such as the reward
structures:
"In the US,
consultancies have an
'eat what you kill'
approach," says
Stewart-Allen. "In
Europe what happens is
more of a lock-step
system where you pay
more in line with the
length of tenure with
the firm."
The key says
Stewart-Allen is to
appreciate that
"difference is
difference" and to work
to achieve a cultural
alignment within the
firm.
"Three-quarters of
the failures of joint
ventures and mergers are
because of cultural
differences," she says.
From the client
perspective, what's
important is to deliver
a consistent brand and a
consistent customer
experience where it
matters, but to tailor
it where appropriate.
"We see intellectual
property travel around
the world," says
Stewart-Allen." The IP
or business models will
apply more or less
everywhere, it's the way
they're localized and
delivered. You can have
a virtual team, provided
the team is synchronized
and is driven by the
client's | |
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| | expectations-you have to
let the clients define
the agenda."
This doesn't mean
that European
consultants have to
pretend to be Americans,
or vice versa:
"Very often the fact
that consultants come
from another culture is
an asset, they bring a
fresh set of eyes," says
Stewart-Allen.
"Consultants that aren't
promoting that fact and
telling their clients
it's a benefit are
missing a huge trick.
One of the things that
my clients know is that
I'm not British, I have
a different perspective
and way of analyzing
things and that is a
huge value-add."
Using your outsider
status can have its
advantages:
"I can say things
like 'I know this is
terribly American of me,
but what's your
budget'," says
Stewart-Allen. "If you
were British that would
seem crass-but I get an
answer."
The main thing as a
transatlantic consultant
is to be yourself, she
says.
"People will take you
for what you are. Being
culturally sensitive and
adapting to cultures
goes a long way, you
don't have to lose
yourself."
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